Judge Rules Occupy Ft. Lauderdale Can Stay Put

Occupy Ft. Lauderdale protesters have been give a deadline to pack up their tents.

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The handful of Occupy Fort Lauderdale protesters camped outside City Hall can stay where they are, for now.

Late Wednesday, a Broward judge ruled the group does not have remove their tents. The group was given a 5 p.m. Wednesday deadline to leave City Hall.

The group claimed the should not be force to leave because the site is not a park which city regulations prohibit sleeping in overnight.

The protester’s website claims the city created a new rule for its Policy and Standards manual, on Tuesday Nov. 22 and notified them that afternoon. The new rule states that the city will permit constitutionally protected activities in the space, subject to such activities not interfering with public order. The new policy adds new time restrictions upon the use of the space, closing the space nightly between 2:00AM and 5:00AM.

The group claimed the cities new rule is a “plan to limit our first amendment rights and a direct attack on our rights to peaceably assemble at the steps of city hall.”

Little said the city was trying to remove the tents on City Hall property because of a sanitation and public safety issue.